Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 72 (Color Image)

0072	Southern Tibet : vol.4

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we were now approaching. The march goes to the north, N. N. W. and west and
the distance is 30 km. to *Camp VII,* where the height is 4.953 m., or a fall of 157 m.
since *Camp VI,* a rate of 1:191. It should, however, be observed that the ground
falls gradually all the way to the point where the direction is changed to the west,
and where the altitude is probably only 4,900 m. From there, approaching *Camp VII*
near the base of the western mountains, the ground again rises, imperceptibly to
the eye, it is true, but still reaching 4.953 m.

From a climatic point of view the march was also extraordinary. There was
no snow- or hail-storm, no wind, no clouds, the sun even burning hot, and, having
left the little dying brook at *Camp VI,* we saw not a drop of water until we reached
the spring at *Camp VII.* We, therefore, crossed a very arid and dry part of the
plateau-land. The absence of running water indeed proves that this part of Tibet
is always protected against precipitation. For even if snow- and hail-storms of the
kind we had just experienced very often pass over the highlands, their precipitation
vanishes, as we have seen, in the course of an hour, evaporating in the extremely
dry air. At any rate the precipitation is not sufficient to form lasting brooks. Pro-
ceeding N. E. from *Chang-lung-yogma* we have seen how the running water became
more and more scarce. The brook we had followed for three and a half days, and
which goes down to the little lake, and perhaps is its principal feeder, carried, in
spite of its coming from the *Kara-korum* water-parting, very little water. The brook
from the low threshold vanished after a course of only 9 km. The farther we pro-
ceeded from the *Kara-korum* water-parting range the drier the ground became. This
part of N. W. Tibet may certainly be regarded as the driest of the whole country,
perhaps excepting the region around *Akato-tagh* in the far N. E. Those parts of
the *Kwen-lun* System where the *Kara-kash* and *Yurung-kash* have their sources must,
on the other hand, be rich in water. It is only the plateau-land between the two systems
that may be regarded as an arid highland desert.

A short distance below *Camp VI* there was a little knoll of red weathered and
rotten limestone, the only living rock within reach the whole day. Even gravel was
very rare. The comminution of the débris had advanced as far as possible, and
the whole ground consisted in fine, yellow dust, extremely soft and dry. In this soft
ground there are millions of rabbits' holes. Yapkak grew all over the plain with a
few interruptions. On some slopes fairly good grass appeared. The plain which
now opens up to our right is nearly level, and without instruments, since the bed
of the brook has vanished, it would have been impossible to tell in what direction
it falls. To the east the plain is bounded by low, red, rounded hills. Our route
follows along the foot of the western hills, which, at one place, had a nearly verti-
cal slope. Turning N. N. W. we have a very extensive plain in front of us to the
north, bounded by a range with some snow. The bed of a dry watercourse is directed

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Citation Information

OCR Text

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books